Inner Child...

      Today I was reminded of two words I haven't heard or thought about in eons (whatever they are)... "inner child." It was the early nineties and I was having some "relationship problems" with the girl I was seeing. The problem was I loved her but didn't want to move in with her and her four year old son.

      As a result I ended up seeking some therapy (I thought I'd waltz into her office for one session, she would tell me there was nothing wrong with me and I would move on, boy was I wrong). This happened to coincide with the New Age/therapy explosion that seemed to be happening in North America at the time. The main proponent or guru, if you will with his book...

     Was John Bradshaw...

     

       I even went to hear him lecture at UBC with 7000 other seekers and ACOA's (adult children of alcoholics). I'm unsure if he coined the phrase "inner child" and I don't know who did (give 'er the googler if you want, I'm not in the mood) but he did seem to be a driving force behind the "movement."  His writing was common sense, insightful and he did shed a lot of light on family dynamics.

       Anyhoo, to the point. The therapist (a friend of mine says "the-rapist") I was seeing suggested I try some inner child work. Since I was keeping a journal at the time she thought it would be good for me to go home after our session and write a letter to little Danny inside telling him how much I loved him, cared for him and would never let anything happen to him. Desperate for answers to my "condition" I immediately headed home and began writing. It seemed retarded at first and then grew increasingly more retarded the more I wrote. This was supposed to unlock something inside and cause a flow of emotion and healing, nothing happened--all I found out is that I can't write with my left hand to save my life.

        Me in '91 0r '92 in my first suit and a bad one at that. The tailor I used to get my pants hemmed at suggested I needed a suit--impressionable at the time I concurred. My tie's tied too short, I'm normally anal about such details... I owned an extensive vintage tie collection. 

      It seems as though I've found a solution to all my relationship problems over the years...no relationship...no problems. Lonely maybe but not out of my mind trying to "figure it out." 

     I saw a quote on the www. that said, " To be stupid, selfish, and have good health are three requirements for happiness, though if stupidity is lacking, all is lost." I don't know if that has anything to do with inner child work but it sure is true.